Ralph William Creasman (Tennessee/Illinois, 1920-1999) oil on canvas painting depicting two African American men walking down a dirt road before a small wooden house with a woman standing on the front porch, additional houses and trees visible in the background beneath a blue sky. Signed "R. Creasman" lower left. Additionally signed, en verso of canvas. Housed in a gilt wooden frame with black trim. Sight: 13 1/2" H x 19 3/8" W. Framed: 18 1/4" H x 24 1/8" W. Provenance: Estate of Carl Klein, Brentwood, TN. Biography: "Ralph William Creasman was a Chicago-based illustrator active during the latter portion of the 20th century. He was born August 14, 1920 in Spring City, Tennessee. He graduated from high school in Nashville and attended the Chicago Art Institute for one year before enlisting the army in 1942 and serving in World War II. While in the army, he was assigned to a graphics unit that was responsible for producing information material and maps for the Quartermaster Corps. Creasman left the service in 1946 and lived in New York and Dallas before returning to Chicago in the early 1950s. Creasman was particularly active from the 1950s through the 1990s, with illustrations appearing in numerous children's books, textbooks, magazine articles, and advertisements. His illustrations were primarily whimsical linocuts of animals and people. He joined the STA Type Workshop when it started in 1952 and learned to set type and print his linocuts directly from the blocks. He generally worked as a freelance artist, particularly for Scott Foresman. Creasman was a member of the Artists Guild and the Society of Typographic Arts, and was made a Fellow of STA in 1973. He was often formally recognized by both organizations for his work. He was close to the designer Muriel Underwood, with whom he frequently collaborated. Creasman died on December 14, 1999 in his Rogers Park apartment in Chicago." (source: https://explore.chicagocollections.org/ead/uic/25/fw39/). Condition: Overall good condition with light craquelure to lower half of canvas, few minute areas of paint loss, left side of canvas. 1" x 1" area of dirt encrustation, top center of canvas, visible en verso. Frame with minor abrasions.